2008 Objectives....ITT`s, Duathlons and Team Events.

-
One of my main objectives for 2008 is to continue my focus upon the time trial(ITT)aspect of competitive cycling. In the perfect world I would simply purchase a time trial specific bike but,alas,it is alot of money to invest in a piece of equipment that would see limited use.

As a result I decided to start selling my surplus sporting equipment on Ebay and using the monies to purchase some key items that I can use to convert my road bike into an ITT bike,namely a bullhorn handlebar, Dura Ace bar end shifters,Cane Creek aero brakes and,of course,aerobars.

The matching bar, stem and aerobar arrived a couple weeks ago and my brakes arrived today.I`m pretty happy about the upgrades though it will be a nuissance to have to keep switching back and forth between the road bike and ITT bike setup.

Hope does run eternal however, and though I do not have the coin to purchase a new time trial bike I might be in a situation to build up a bike.Depending upon the profit sharing bonus in February and my income tax return I may upgrade my 2001 Shimano components with a new group. In that case my old components could be placed on a(used)frame/fork combo along with my above mentioned Ebay purchases. I would be able to share wheelsets between the two bikes as well as seatpost and saddle.

Sounds like a best case scenario win/win to me...lol. I also allocate about $200 of my 2008 Heathcare Spending account to my Wellness account which will permit me to purchase an ITT aerodynamic helmet reimbursed by my my employer.Nice!

It`s nice to have an attainable goal for Spring and to enter competitions with the proper gear and setup. Looks like Team Biome will be back to compete in the 2008 Investor`s Group(team event)Triathlon so that gives me further incentive to work on my time trialing skills. I`m still thinking about a Duathlon or two for 2008 if I can continue to work on my running. It does not come natural to me and I am far from a graceful runner but most dualthlons consist to two 4/5km legs which isn`t very extreme for us challenged runners.

Nice! I`m looking forward to Spring already.

Geo

Comments

Anonymous said…
You are so motivated. I find that so impressive. I am still waiting to hear from you. Perhaps you can send a few "how to get started" tips my way. CS
2:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2009 Halifax Criterium - Race Update

-
Image
Awake at 4:30AM I was at the venue real early so it gave me the chance to check out the course. The city had patched and paved the rough sections so it was in excellent shape. The weather had finally cooperated with a warm sunny day as well. It was shaping up to be a great racing day! I was adamant I would not volunteer this year but focus solely on the race. At the last hour,heeding the call,I said I would help sweep the course prior to the first race at 9AM. Somehow I ended up doing the whole loop myself and, thankfully, it was relatively debris free for the most part. I got back to registration around 9AM and placed my race numbers on my jersey. On the way to put the race number on my bike DM,in full racing kit, asked why I was not ready. Seems the Master B/C race started at 9:30AM.I was under the assumption it began at 10AM. Holy Hanna! KT got my bike number on the top tube while I geared up at a record pace. Not the way to prepare for a 40 minute plus two lap criteriu
Read more

Celesta - The Archer's Helmet

-
Image
Finally got around to purchasing an archer specific helmet to add to my medieval kit. I prefer the bascinet which better fits the historical time frame of my gear but opted to purchase the celesta simply due to availability and price. Known as the archer's helmet it was a simpler variant of the sallet that was preva!ent in the15th century and used through out Europe. Archer's were typically the poor cousins of the medieval battlefield in terms of pay and armor but their lot had improved by the 1400's. By the 15th century veteran archers and crossbowmen often had basic armor usually a mix of gambesons, mailes, coats of plate, jacks, brigadines, helmets and some plate. It could be a mixed bag of protection either inherited, scrounged from the battlefield, purchased or granted by the Lord's armouries. It was always a matter of balance between protection and mobility. Archers and crossbowmen were expected to join in melees during a battle but also needed to be
Read more

Scythian Bow - Flagella Dei

-
Image
After several years of interest I finally decided to purchase a Scythian style of horse bow from Flagella Dei Archery based in Hungary.    Opted for a yew laminated bow #42@28 so it was a custom build but worth the wait. Feather light and simply beautiful. Build quality is great and pictures just do not give justice to the eye candy quality of the lamination, tip reinforcements and quality leather handle wrap. Shipping was fast from Europe and bow was professionally boxed with bubble wrap and a nice bow sack. Included was a certificate of authentication complete with the bowyer's signature and warranty information. Needless to say I was anxious to get it outside and loose some arrows. The rain held off on Saturday so it was a perfect opportunity to get out under the green. I just love this bow. Not only is it lightweight with precious little hand shock but is amazingly silent as well. I was using bamboo and wooden arrows but the bamboo arrows definitely suited the bow better over t
Read more